How to Identify the Right Social Media Channel for Your Business

by Alexe Chasanov, Guest Contributor 

It is an incontestable fact that social media is the most influencing and impelling medium nowadays. It has been the center of virtual interaction – people here interact and the news spread so fast that it can reach thousands of people in a minute.

Choosing the right social media platform or channel for your business.

Incorporation of different social media – especially the top 3 – Facebook, YouTube, Instagram – in your business is a pivotal point of promoting your brand. This tactic can be a game changer when you are able to explore and properly utilize the social media’s potentials in your business strategies. The use of this tool for digital marketing strategy is infinite and it is important for broadcasting and reaching your audience in different parts of the world. Using social media is considered to be the most effective strategy for all businesses today, whether they are a young entrepreneur or well-established brand. But choosing the platform or channel for your business is also crucial so read on because this article is here to give you some pointers.

​Must know what the objectives of your social media strategy are
The first of the most important things you have to determine is the objectives of your social media strategy. Remember, each social media channel delivers different results. And if you just chose one channel without really considering your objectives, all your efforts may end up hanging in vain since the yielded results are different from what you have expected.

For example, you may opt to use Facebook if your objective is to increase your brand awareness or you want to enhance lead generation. But, if you want to connect with other professionals and influencers then you may want to consider LinkedIn and Twitter

Must know where your target audience is interacting online the most
Having a concrete answer to this question could make you decide easier which social media channel is best for your business. You must know where your target audience is because that is also where you could easily interact with them. Basically, it would not make any sense to invest time, effort, and resources to a channel where your audience doesn’t hang out.

For example, if your target audience is Millennials, then it would make sense to focus on channels like Snapchat since they are very into it. If it’s principal women, then Pinterest is the safe bet. To find out more, you can check the Pew Research Center and look for related demographics.

Must know how social media channels being used by your competitors
Understanding your competition can help you have an advantage over your competitors. This is just as important as knowing where your audience is. By carefully scrutinizing your competitors’ channel, you can figure out what strategies are working and what is not. Useful tools to help you gain insights on how your competitors are performing on social media like Brandwatch Analytics and Buzzmo are also available.

You can even follow your competitors’ social media pages so you can understand how they interact with their customers and how they market their products.

Must know which content do you want to create?
Creating a content means posting or sharing a blog, e-book, video streaming, or any other avenue to give out important information about your product or about the industry you are in. By doing so, you can establish yourself as an expert regarding the matter and you can attract downloads, sign-ups, and conversions. That’s why knowing the right content for your channel is really important.

For example, if you wish to author white papers for professional purposes then LinkedIn should be your chosen channel. On the other hand, Instagram, Pinterest, and Tumblr could be your best options if you want to create an engaging visual content. Remember that you should deliberate on what kind of content appeals to your audience best, what type of content you enjoy creating, and what your strengths are.

Must know when you can manage multiple social media channels
You don’t have to limit yourself to just one channel. You are free to establish multiple social media channels. But if you opt to do so, make sure that you have enough time or resources to manage every channel otherwise, you’re going to spread your brand too thin. And to make your life easier, automation is there effortlessly schedule posts in advance across multiple channels.
But, that may not work for all channels like YouTube where you still have to produce contents separately.

The social media scene can be overwhelming when first starting out. That’s why choosing the best channel for your business is very important. The power of social media is getting stronger and stronger as time passes by since there is really a big potential in these platforms because almost everyone has one or more social media accounts. And creating a social media plan template could help you maximize the yield you might get for employing this strategy for your business. With a well thought social media plan, you will have a better brand visibility by posting sound and interesting contents and putting links to direct them to your business website that will ultimately generate you more engagements and conversions.
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Author Bio:
Alexe Chasanov is an online marketing community specialist in California. She also works as a consultant for a start-up company to help them in their marketing and growth hacking efforts. She loves writing about social media trends here and there, and on her free time, she loves outdoor sports and martial arts.